Giant Planet Orbits Backwards

actually, our system is an anomaly. other stars have planets that rotate in various patterns. ours is strange in the fact that all the planet’s orbit in a relatively flat array.

Probably a girl planet, then can never follow directions.

of course, no offense to pregnant people

How would orbiting backwards affect the planet? Would it have gravity like Earth? Would the planet have different kind of life forms?

@ ETA: Orbiting backwards might subject it to very high tidal forces, but I must confess that I don’t know enough about the mechanics of these things to do more than speculate on that point. Its orbit is highly elliptical, too, which I’m sure would cause temperature extremes and would stretch it out of shape.

Of course it would have a gravitational field – all objects do. In the case of WASP-17, it would probably be twice as powerful as Jupiter’s, which is many times stronger than Earth’s. Assuming it had a surface you could land on, you’d not be able to stand up, or even breathe. And we don’t have any rockets powerful enough to get you off the planet. So if you’re planning to visit it, stay a safe distance!

As for life-forms, it’s anyone’s guess. For a very long time I believed that the “water is a requirement for life” statement was rather short-sighted and based on the fact that this is true for organisms on Earth (That is, if Jupiter had life, it would breathe gaseous ammonia, etc.) However, a few years ago a chemist explained hydrocarbons to me. I don’t remember the details, but the upshot of it was that hydrogen is the only element that bonds readily with almost anything, is the most abundant element in the universe, and when it bonds with carbon it forms a solid “platform” for more complex chemical combinations, such as proteins, etc. An ammonia atmosphere would not yield enough chemical variety to result in something as complex as organic life. Therefore, while I’m not saying that WASP-17 has no life, I think the odds against it are pretty steep.

WASP-17 appears to be a gas giant — a very thick envelope of gases surrounding a hot core that might be liquid or solid. This core might be twice the size of Earth — very tiny in relation to the gas envelope. It may also, like Jupiter and Saturn, generate powerful radiation belts that would be quite lethal to any human visitors who came near it. I’m not sure we have adequate protection to make a “2001: A Space Odyssey” trip to Jupiter or Saturn feasible yet.

where is this planet going? and how fast? is it comming our way? and if it is, than how long do we have before it can affect our planet? nobody is talking about that. does anybody know outhere?

@ Nicholas Dollak: Thank you